By William “Skip” Deegans
In December 1949, Kidd Truck & Implement Co. rolled out the new L-line of International Harvester trucks at its showroom in Fairlea. Owner Earl Kidd described the line as “a completely new design in motor trucks, at once apparent from the massive front end to the smartly styled cabs.” The rise and fall of International Harvester trucks is a tragic history that impacted thousands of employees and dealers.
In 1831, 22 year old Cyrus McCormick invented a horse-drawn mechanical reaper for harvesting grain called the McCormick’s Reaping & Mowing Machine.
He organized the McCormick Reaper Works to manufacture the machine. By the end of the century there were over 300 reaper manufacturers. In 1902, McCormick merged with a competitor, The Deering Harvester Co., and three other smaller reaper manufacturers to form the International Harvester Co. (IH). During the late 1800s, McCormick and Deering had been working independently on a self-powered car, and in 1909 IH introduced a truck called an Auto Wagon that was aimed at the agricultural market. The Auto Wagon caught on as a delivery truck, and IH was off and running. By 1910, IH was the largest producer of light trucks and the fourth largest company in the United States.
In 1920, IH began its move from Akron, Ohio, to Ft. Wayne, Indiana where the company built a 193,000 square foot building. The first truck came off the new assembly line in December 1923. While sales slumped during the depression, federal infrastructure projects created a demand for heavy-duty trucks as did World War I. By 1950, IH was selling a half-million trucks a year and had between 5,500 and 6,000 employees. To compete against the Jeep, IH introduced the short wheel based, four-wheel drive Scout in 1960. The Scout was an instant success, and by 1964 the company enjoyed annual sales of 100,000. In the 1960s, IH built a cab-over-engine (COE) truck and was the number one manufacturer of over-the-road trucks.
IH’s downfall began in the 1960s. To compete against the Scout, Ford began producing the Bronco and Chevrolet came out with the Blazer. Ford and General Motors had a wide network of dealers and the ability to market to families whereas IH was limited to truck and agricultural dealers. The recession and fuel shortages of the 1970s cut into sales of light pick-up trucks. The company discontinued most passenger and light-duty trucks in 1975. In 1977, management of IH shifted from the McCormick family to former Xerox executive, Archie McCardell. McCardell imposed cost-cutting measures and entered into a battle with the UAW that resulted in a walk-out in 1979. With sagging sales of the Scout, it was discontinued in 1980. IH’s farm and construction equipment divisions operated at a loss.
In 1982, IH closed its Ft. Wayne factory, leaving only Springfield, Ohio, and Ontario, Canada factories. The company sold its agricultural equipment division along with the IH brand in 1984 and emerged as Navistar International in 1986. In 2021, Navistar became a wholly-owned subsidiary of TRATON, a European truck manufacturer, that has continued using the International brand on its large over-the-road trucks.
Sources: The West Virginia News, PBS, Hemmings.
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